


The Value of Trust and Friendship

by Dunuelos



Series: Harry Potter, Lone Traveler [7]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 16:27:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20261056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dunuelos/pseuds/Dunuelos
Summary: "The Lone Traveler: Young man who tried to change the past and save those he loved… plan failed and became the Lone Traveler, wandering through time and reality, making a difference wherever he went… very powerful… defeated a powerful Dark Lord… swept along the path he walked by a spectacular aura of blue light."'Legends & Myths of the Wizarding World' by Gertrude YolandaFF St ID 2673584 – Chap 9 – The Professional





	The Value of Trust and Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> "The Lone Traveler: Young man who tried to change the past and save those he loved… plan failed and became the Lone Traveler, wandering through time and reality, making a difference wherever he went… very powerful… defeated a powerful Dark Lord… swept along the path he walked by a spectacular aura of blue light."
> 
> 'Legends & Myths of the Wizarding World' by Gertrude Yolanda
> 
> FF St ID 2673584 – Chap 9 – The Professional

In an almost abandoned district, a blue light grew and out of that light a figure emerged. The watchers who kept secret eyes on the lone inhabitant had no opportunity to take any steps without revealing their position to said inhabitant. They wanted to intercede but had strict orders: "Remain hidden unless there is verified danger to your assignment." The new figure might be a danger, but it hadn't been verified. One of the figures, prompted by the team leader, moved to alert the village leader to the incursion.

* * *

Harry looked around, wondering where he was. He saw a boy who looked like a first year staring at him. He preferred when his arrival wasn't obvious as it often meant less questions. But, the observer usually recognized that he wasn't lying, so it balanced in the end.

He called out, "Hello. My name is Harry. Who are you and where am I?"

The boy who apparently had been throwing knives replied, "I am Uchiha Sasuke. Where did you come from?" The boy's voice showed almost no emotion.

Harry chuckled. "That's a long story." He looked around and saw a bench. As he sat he answered, "From another world, apparently. Where are we?"

The boy looked at him with those dead eyes. Finally he replied, "Konoha."

Harry was curious. "Konoha, where?"

The boy looked thoughtful as though trying to come up with an answer that would suit. "Konoha, Elemental Countries. This is the Land of Fire."

"Why the Land of Fire? Are there volcanoes?"

The boy looked annoyed. "Because many clans here have affinity for Fire instead of Wind, Earth, Water, or Lightning. Many clans and shinobi here use techniques using fire."

Harry realized that he had landed in another alternate world instead of something like his own. He was getting used to that. He nodded and then looked around.

"Why is this place so empty?"

The boy looked reluctant but finally answered, "This is my clan's district. I am the last loyal member. The others were killed – or are traitors." The way he said "traitors" gave Harry got the distinct impression that the boy being the last of his clan was not ancient history or because the family only had few children. That was really his own situation: Potters normally had only a small number of children and all too often they fought and died for their beliefs.

Harry was curious, "Do you mind telling me about it?"

* * *

Sasuke looked around. He really should report this man to Anbu or the Hokage, but felt no desire to.

Sasuke had lived alone since his accursed brother had killed his clan. Many people had tried to counsel him but they all were useless. They didn't have the experiences he had and so could not understand. To his eleven-year-old mind, he was unique in his suffering. He wasn't – but he was only eleven.

This obvious stranger, however, wasn't a citizen of Konoha and so he would not have to live with pity or platitudes day after day. He needed to train to get stronger, not to talk endlessly.

This, however, didn't mean he wasn't lonely. He just could not bear to get close to anyone in Konoha. It would prevent deaths in the future if he avoided that. He had already lost everyone precious to him; he didn't need to have the desire to kill his best friend on top of that.

He moved to a bench facing the one occupied by the stranger.

* * *

The Hokage listened to his Anbu as he looked through the scrying ball to see what was being reported. The man was obviously not a citizen of the Elemental Nations. He also did not make any threatening moves, so his Anbu's decision not to interfere was correct for the moment.

He watched Sasuke sit and begin to talk to the stranger. This, in fact, relieved him. The youngest Uchiha had closed himself off beyond the normal Uchiha stoicism after the massacre of the clan. That Sasuke would open up to anyone was therefore good. However, that the person wasn't a citizen of Konoha was worrying. He decided that he needed to be present physically to ensure Konoha's security.

* * *

Harry listened to the boy's story. It was a betrayal of tremendous proportion. He understood the reason for the boy's dead expression. When the tale was finished he said, "I think I understand your pain."

The boy, Sasuke, gave him a condescending look. "What do you know of betrayal?"

Harry had a lot of experience keeping his cool. He needed it all at that moment. "Let me tell you about my life."

Harry told Sasuke about his history, about Hogwarts, about his parents and the Dark Lord. He told him about his godfather and what he had learned. He told Sasuke about the Triwizard tournament and how the world had turned on him. He spoke of the resurrection of Voldemort and how he was made to look like deranged. He spoke of the struggles and the final result.

Finally, Harry focused directly on Sasuke. "In the end, I lost EVERYTHING. Everyone I ever loved and whoever loved me. I have known betrayal and I know loss." Sasuke was spellbound by the story. "A number of years later I tried to use a technique to go back and fix all of the mistakes, to save all of my family. But it didn't work. Now I am moved from place to place and time to time. I usually end up somewhere I can help. I can't get back to my own universe. At least I can help where I am."

Sasuke finally understood that the man in front of him could truly understand. "So, what should I do?"

Harry sat back and thought about it for a moment. "Tell me what happened again. Give me more detail."

* * *

The Hokage stood in the shadow, suppressing his chakra. He didn't know if either could sense it. He had listened to the story of the visitor. It was certainly a tragic tale. However, it had also allowed the young Uchiha to see that others had suffered just as much or more than he. Sarutobi Hurizen continued to watch and listen.

* * *

Sasake retold his story, adding details as it progressed. Finally, he got near the end. "So my brother, my Nisan which I looked up to for my whole life, used his sharingan to lock me into an illusion." Sasuke was almost in tears at this point. "I was tormented for days in my mind. When I came out of it a week later, I learned of the extent of the betrayal and vowed to avenge my clan at any cost."

Harry nodded in a distracted manner. "That's pretty horrible. It doesn't make total sense. If he wanted to test himself, why leave you alive? And why encourage you to kill him?"

* * *

The Hokage tensed. No one had ever forced Sasuke to think about the night of the massacre. He cursed to himself: The Konoha Council had much to answer for.

* * *

Sasuke interjected, "It doesn't matter. I will take him up on that. This is why I train: I will become strong enough to beat him."

Harry got up and paced for a moment. Then he remembered something. He pulled a book out of his pocket.

A couple of Universes earlier, Harry had arrived while his alternate was in fifth year. He had explained Occlumency to his alternate to alleviate the visions and told him about the book that his own Snape had never given him. Luckily, it was before the attack on Arthur Weasley and Voldemort was unaware of the connection as of yet.

Harry had snuck in and warded the Ministry against snakes so that Arthur would not get attacked. He had then made his way to Diagon Alley and bought the book. He was going to give it to his alternate. He had then felt the pull. He hoped his alternate took the effort to get the book himself.

He looked at the book and decided that it was a good first step. He handed it to Sasuke. "Can you read this?"

Sasuke looked at the book in confusion. It was in some weird script. He shook his head.

Harry cursed. He then said, "Can you write your name?"

"I don't have a pen or a brush."

Harry took his wand and conjured a quill, an ink bottle, and some parchment. "It won't last long but we don't need it to. Go ahead."

Sasuke wrote the kanji for _Uchiha Sasuke_. Harry looked at it. "It looks Japanese or Chinese." Harry took the book back from Sasuke and muttered something while waving his wand. He then tapped the book. When he opened it, the language had changed. He handed it back to Sasuke. "Try again."

Sasuke read the title page and sounded out the word, "Occlumency: Protecting Your Mind?"

Harry grinned. He hadn't known if the spell would work. "Excellent! This is a book on a mental discipline used by my people. It explains how to build shields so that others cannot mentally attack your mind or use illusions to trick you. It isn't easy, but if you take the time to learn it, it would close the door to your brother repeating his trick. Done well enough, you can take a mental probe and attack the intruder."

Sasuke looked at the book in awe. "A defense for Genjutsu!"

Harry asked, "Genjutsu?"

Sasuke smirked at Harry. "A ninja art where a shinobi attacks by creating illusion. It's the reason why the sharingan is so effective. Very few can overcome the illusion with the sharingan of the highest type."

Harry nodded. "Well, that should actually work. It also allows you to sort out your memories. It can be painful, but in the end the nightmares go away because you understand your own mind." He smiled sadly. "It's the only thing that kept me sane for the first hundred or so trips the Universe sent me on."

Sasuke bowed to Harry as he clutched the book. "I thank you most humbly for this gift."

Harry waved his hand. "It was something I picked up. You need it more than I do. It's too bad you don't have someone who can check your mental defenses to see how far you get."

A voice came from a stand of trees nearby. "That isn't entirely accurate."

The two turned to see an old man dressed in white with a white hat walk out of the trees. Sasuke, recognizing the figure, bowed. "Hokage-sama."

Harry was struck by the sheer sense of _presence_ that this man had, as though he was there far more solidly than a mere mortal. It was far stronger than even Dumbledore had. He wondered why he hadn't felt the man approach.

"I am sorry for interrupting. I heard a report of a strange man appearing in the home of one of our Noble Clans and I decided to investigate. I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of Konohagakure."

Harry replied, "I am Harry Potter. I guess that's Potter Harry here. I am a visitor from other places."

The Hokage took his pipe out and lit it with a jutsu. "I heard your story. I do not mean to be rude, but this village is under my protection."

Harry nodded. "I understand. It's nice to see a leader that does the job personally and doesn't leave it to lackeys."

The Hokage nodded. "Now, what is this about mental defense?"

Harry explained Occlumency to the Hokage as the old man smoked his pipe and listened. "As you progress, another who knows the art of Legilimency can test your defenses to see if your protections will hold. It is better for all concerned if the tester is someone the Occlumens trusts."

The Hokage looked thoughtful. He thought of the Yamanaka clan. "Can anyone learn it?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know of any limitations. I don't see why not."

The Hokage nodded. "I would like to inspect this and see if my Anbu and other shinobi could learn this. It would be a great boon to my village. We have a Clan that can check mental defenses. May I copy the book?"

Harry replied, "Well, it's Sasuke's now. If he lets you, it's fine by me. Let me try something."

He took the book from Sasuke and performed a Gemino curse. Another three copies appeared on the bench where he had directed the copies to appear. He handed the original back to Sasuke.

"These are temporary copies. They can last several days or longer but they will break down. I recommend getting someone to manually copy the text as soon as possible so that you have a permanent copy. Getting more than one person to copy different parts should allow you to get it done in time."

The Hokage made a motion and another shinobi appeared. He pointed to the books. "A perfect copy must be produced. Use those that are quickest and most exacting in their writing. Trusted shinobi only, experienced chunin or higher. This is at least an A-class secret." The man nodded and disappeared with the three books.

The Hokage turned back to Harry. "I thank you for the gift to Sasuke-kun. He has not had an easy time in the last years. I believe it was good for him to speak to someone who understood."

Sasuke nodded sharply to that.

Harry sadly chuckled. "I was relieved that I could do something to help." He turned to Sasuke. "You've had a hard life. If you are anything like me, it won't get any easier even if it gets more exciting. You want to protect yourself from getting hurt, but take it from someone with experience: I would never trade the joy I had in my best friends and those I loved to prevent the pain of losing them. It hurts. Everyday. But without them, my life would have no meaning."

He looked off in the distance. "No one could really understand me. No one had ever lived through what I lived through. But it didn't matter. My best friends were a bossy girl who tried to learn life through books that always had a hard time making friends and a guy from a poor family who had self-esteem issues and who was obsessed with the color orange."

Sasuke was startled as images of two of his classmates came to mind.

Harry turned back to Sasuke. "It didn't matter. None of us were from the same background, none of us had lived the same life. But all of us learned to trust and help each other. We would die for each other. I know because they did. If I had the chance, I would do the same." Harry shook his head at the memory of his Ron and Hermione, unique in the Universes as each was different.

"We fought, we made mistakes, we got fed up. We always came back together. My bossy friend calmed down and my lazy friend worked harder to keep up. If God came down right now and offered to end my Traveling in exchange for losing my memory of them, I would tell him to go to Hell, even if my Traveling was made permanent. Friends you can trust are too important. They live on in my memory and will till my existence ends."

Sasuke was awed by the depth of the man's feelings. The Hokage nodded in sage agreement with the man's words.

Harry felt the pull. "Good luck, Sasuke. I wish you well in your future life. Never give up and never surrender to despair. May you experience friendship, and love, and joy everlasting."

He turned and his form compressed into a bright blue ball. It moved off and then it disappeared. A hauntingly hopeful music wafted around the training field and then disappeared as well.


End file.
